HELLO THERE! Emma Lappi – recipient of the Young Researcher Award 2024

Among other things, she has conducted research on how the experience of owning a business affects the subsequent career of the individual. Emma Lappi, PhD in Economics at Aarhus University, is the recipient of the Entrepreneurship Forum’s Young Researcher Award 2024 with a prize sum of SEK 150,000.

Congratulations on the award! What does the award mean to you, and why do you think you received it?

– Thank you very much! It is very nice and feels extremely valuable. The prize creates a certain amount of publicity, which brings positive impact for my work in the research and other communites.

– I think I got the award because I am interested in different types of issues in entrepreneurship, and I have been quite productive in terms of my high quality research.

In your doctoral thesis, you were able to show that employees who have previously been entrepreneurs earn significantly less than employees who have not been self-employed. This is despite the fact that those with entrepreneurial experience are more productive than others. Why is this an important area to study?

– Many self-employed people choose to close down their business and return back to employment. There are many reasons for this, but the experience of running a business has long-term effects on their future working lives as employees. Often for the worse as they earn less than their colleagues.

– Policy makers in Sweden as in many industrialized countries focus a lot on encouraging people to start and run businesses. But there are downsides to this that I don’t think decision-makers always take into account. We have a social security system that is tailored to wage earners, and wage growth is worse for former entrepreneurs. So in many ways, it might be better for individuals to be employed. At the very least, these aspects should be taken into account when developing industrial policy.

What advice do you have for managers and HR professionals who are considering hiring former contractors?

– There is some fear among recruiters that those who have previously run businesses will leave after some time. In this way, having entrepreneurial experience can be a disadvantage in a recruitment process.

– But I really want to encourage managers and HR people to hire a diversity of individuals. And above all, don’t be afraid to hire this type of candidate, as they are usually equally or even more productive than others. Entrepreneurial experience is a valuable asset and can contribute greatly to the organization’s human capital.

What are you currently studying?

– We have recently received funding to investigate how the perception of safety and crime where you live affects entrepreneurship. That is, how is your business affected if you have been a victim of crime or are part of crime yourself? How do businesses in unsafe areas fare? Do you choose to close down your business or move? You might choose employment rather than running a business if you live in an area you perceive as unsafe.

– For me, it is important to address issues that we know little about, but which have implications for policy, managers and other stakeholders. Entrepreneurship is a particularly important area to study because it affects both individuals and businesses in a variety of ways.

Contact emma.lappi@btech.au.dk